The Morning Roar: San Antonio Goes After Lyft, Rand Votes Against Ukraine Aid and A "Shield Law" to Protect "Covered" Journalists
San Antonio Cops Going After Lyft DriversSan Antonio is the latest city to attempt to crack down on the Lyfts of the world, which operate on a "donation" basis with two free parties undertaking in a private agreement that doesn't harm or threaten anyone else in any way. Naturally, the State can't have any of this type of interaction, as the State gets no cut of the pie as they do via taxi certifications and licensing. From Reason:
San Antonio Police warned today that those on line car sharing apps like 'Lyft' and 'Uber' are illegal, and drivers who pick up passengers for cash risk being arrested."You might be one of these drivers who is summoned for a ride, and you won't know who summoned you," [Chief of Police William] McManus warned. "It could be a police officer, and you'll be in trouble.""The problem with this is, the public is put in danger," he said. "You don't know who is going to show up, you don't know what the condition is that the car is in that you're going to get into."
Reason easily debunks this ridiculous argument.
Except that through the use of an app that allows both driver and passenger to see each other before pickup and see how each other has been rated by other users and drivers, you do know what you are getting into through a system that's up to the minute and generally far more rigorous than the city's paper regulations on "official taxis."
Rand Paul One of Two to Vote Against Ukraine AidCongress voted to move forward a bill in both the House and the Senate that include sanctions against Russia (further escalating a bad situatiion via acts of economic warfare that will harm the citizens of Russia much more than the government) and an aid package to support the new Ukrainian government.Why is the U.S. supporting the new Ukrainian government? It's a logical continuation of of the coup that was largely funded and supported by U.S. proxy groups. And of course, to piss off Russia. I give Rand a lot of ink here, covering his lesser traits, but let it not be said that I don't also weigh in when he does something right. Rand Paul was one of two (TWO!!!) Senators to vote against the bill, along with Dean Heller (R-Nev.).
Heller said in a statement after the vote, "Any instance in which American tax dollars are being sent abroad requires great consideration and a high burden of proof that these dollars are going to achieve the intended goal." He said he is "not convinced" that the U.S. aid "will not ultimately be used to pay back Russian debts" and that lawmakers "should explore other available options."
Well put, Dean. Though we shouldn't explore any other options, as the people of the Ukraine can take care of themselves without our money.A Law to Protect Journalists...That Are Politician's PetsThere is a bill from Democrat Chuck Schumer titled the “Free Flow of Information Act,” which was passed to the Senate Judiciary Committee in September of last year. This bill, which in theory was created to protect journalists from excessive government scrutiny and from having to reveal sources, has taken flack from the Republican side of the aisle, and rightly so.
Schumer's proposal would exempt a “covered journalist” from subpoenas and other legal requirements to expose their confidential sources in leak investigations and other areas...“They want to pick and choose which journalists are covered,” the Texan Republican [Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)] told Breitbart News. “In other words, if you’re a blogger they might not cover you, but if you work for the New York Times they might. Given the changes in the way we get information and the way we consume news, that really smacks to me in essence of government licensing who’s an official ‘journalist’ for the purposes of a shield law and who’s not. If there is one thing I can glean from the First Amendment, it is that government should not be in the business of licensing the news media.”In practice, defining who is considered a “journalist” and protected under the law from having to disclose confidential sources is a thorny legal problem. On the one hand, the law's drafters don't want to provide blanket immunity to everyone. But anointing a government-approved class of scribes cuts against the nature of journalism, which almost by definition is frequently critical of the government.
That is precisely right. All this does is give the White House the ability to crown certain journalists that are favored with protection, while attacking those who aren't. In a way it sounds just like how the Obama administration had been using the IRS to attack right wing political groups via tax audits and denial of the tax status so easily obtained by liberal groups.Considering the administration's terrible relations with the media (recently called “the greatest enemy of press freedom that we have encountered in at least a generation,”) juxtaposed with its hiring practices towards those it likes, this bill couldn't be a worse idea.Enjoy your weekend everyone, and don't forget The Lions of Liberty are on Twitter, Facebook & Google+Receive access to ALL of our EXCLUSIVE bonus audio content – including “Conspiracy Corner”, “Degenerate Gamblers” and the “League of Liberty Podcast” by joining the Lions of Liberty Pride and supporting us on Patreon!Read The Morning Roar every weekday Monday-Friday!
